DISCIPLESHIP

“Ready for
Either” is the significant legend that underspans the seal of the
Baptist Missionary Union, which presents an ox standing with a plough on
one side, and an altar on the other.

How Each Apostle Died

All of the
apostles were insulted by the enemies of their Master. They were called
to seal their doctrines with their blood and nobly did they bear the
trial.

Matthew
suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city of
Ethiopia.

Mark expired
at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that
city.

Luke was
hanged upon an olive tree in the classic land of Greece.

John was put
in a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner,
and was afterward banished to Patmos.

Peter was
crucified at Rome with his head downward.

James, the
Greater, was beheaded at Jerusalem,

James, the
Less, was thrown from a lofty pinnacle of the temple, and then beaten to
death with a fuller’s club.

Bartholomew
was flayed alive.

Andrew was
bound to a cross, whence he preached to his persecutors until he died.

Thomas was run
through the body with a lance at Coromandel in the East Indies.

Jude was shot
to death with arrows.

Matthias was
first stoned and then beheaded.

Barnabas of
the Gentiles was stoned to death at Salonica.

Paul, after
various tortures and persecutions, was at length beheaded at Rome by the
Emperor Nero.

Such was the
fate of the apostles, according to traditional statements.

—Christian Index

If God Could

If God can hang the stars on high,

Can paint the clouds that drift on by;

Can send the sun across the sky,

What could He do through you?

If He can send a storm through space,

And dot with trees the mountain’s face;

If He, the sparrow’s way can trace,

What could He do through you?

If God can do such little things

As count our hairs, or birds that sing,

Control the universe that swings,

What could He do through you?

—G. E. Wagoner

God Can Do It

Longfellow
could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it
worth $6,000—that’s genius.

Rockefeller
could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth a million
dollars—that’s capital.

Uncle Sam can
take gold, stamp an eagle on it, and make it worth $20.00—that’s
money.

A mechanic can
take material that is worth only $5.00 and make it worth $50.00—that’s
skill.

An artist can
take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it
worth $1,000—that’s art.

God can take a
worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit
in it, and make it a blessing to humanity—that’s salvation.

—Christian Digest

Christ Has No Hands

Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today

He has no feet but our feet to lead men in the way

He has no tongue but our tongue to tell men how He
died

He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.

We are the only Bible the careless world will read,

We are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffer’s
creed;

We are the Lord’s last message, given in word and
deed;

What if the type is crooked? What if the print is
blurred?

What if our hands are busy with other work than His?

What if our feet are walking where sin’s allurement
is?

What if our tongue is speaking of things His lips
would spurn?

How can we hope to help Him or welcome His return?

—Annie Johnston Flint

Stomping On The Violin

It was
advertised in one of our large cities that a great violinist would play
on a violin worth $1,000. The theater was packed. Many were curious and
wanted to hear such an expensive instrument being played. The violinist
went on stage and played very beautifully.

Suddenly, he
threw the violin on the floor and then began to stomp on it, crushing it
to pieces, then walked off the stage. The people were shocked. But then
the manager came on stage and said that the violinist did not really use
the $1,000 violin but a $20 one. He would now play on the $1,000 one.
And so he did. But few people could tell the difference. He simply
wanted to show that it was the violinist rather than the violin that
makes the music.